Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The Bush administration has proposed rules that would help employers avoid liability for age discrimination when converting traditional pension plans to cash balance plans. We’ll explain what this is about.
President Bush has just signed legislation to extend unemployment insurance benefits for laid-off workers. The measure will extend benefits by 13 weeks for the estimated 1.6 million workers whose normal state UI benefits are due to expire in May 2003. Plus, it will restore benefits to the approximately 750,000 workers whose unemployment benefits lapsed just […]
Over the past year, many employers have seen a huge jump in their workers’ comp premiums—and even bigger hikes may be on the way. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has just reported that the California workers’ compensation insurance industry is under-reserved by a startling $13.7 billion. The WCIRB attributes the deficit to, among other […]
Suppose your company is undergoing a merger, and employees are offered a bonus for promising to stay on for a certain period of time—perhaps three or six months—during the rocky transition period. Do you have to pay the full bonus to an employee who goes out on family leave for some of that period? A […]
When Professional Risk Management acquired Applied Risk Management, the companies’ agreement provided for all active Applied employees to automatically be transferred to Professional without a break in health benefits coverage. But workers on medical, disability or other extended leave weren’t transferred until they returned to active duty, and they consequently lost health coverage until they […]
To save time and money administering employee benefits and payroll, a growing number of employers are turning to leasing—or outsourcing—employees rather than hiring them outright. In this special two-part series, we’ll look at whether employee leasing is right for you and explore some of its hidden pitfalls.
Earlier this year, we reported on a major California Supreme Court opinion that state anti-bias law doesn’t bar discrimination against older workers in providing fringe benefits such as tuition assistance. Now Gov. Davis has inked into law an amendment to California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act that undoes the high court’s ruling and brings California in […]
Wary of today’s uncertain economy, many employers are cutting their workforces, and many employees who think they could be laid off next are jumping ship for new jobs. Last month, we focused on the legal and personnel issues that employers should address when planning and carrying out layoffs. This month, we’ve put together a comprehensive […]
Overturning an earlier controversial decision, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has handed down a major new ruling that strengthens your right to require job applicants to sign mandatory arbitration agreements as a condition of employment.
In two recent opinions, a California appeals court has addressed the issue of when a student can be considered the school’s employee.